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Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom and the Head of His/Her Majesty's Government. The Prime Minister and Cabinet (consisting of all the most senior ministers, who are government department heads) are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party or parties, and ultimately to the electorate. The office of the prime minister is the highest elected political office in the modern United Kingdom. The office was not "created" or "established", but rather has evolved into existence over a period of three centuries, with various unwritten rules, customs, and laws hardening into the current office. This article lists the known prime ministers found in the works of Harry Turtledove after the Point of Divergence. Many prime ministers who served before the POD of a given alternate history are mentioned in passing. Also stories set in OTL may reference past PMs, or even the sitting PM. ''In the Presence of Mine Enemies With Germany emerging victorious from the Second World War, the United Kingdom was annexed to the Greater German Reich, and the British Union of Fascists became the country's only legal party. In 2010, the BUF launched a push for reform within its borders that saw the selection of a Prime Minister by popular vote by party members. Note: Mosley is never explicitly called a PM, although evidence available suggests he either served in that role or in a similar one. Southern Victory During the War of Secession, '''Prime Minister' Lord Palmerston supported the seceding Confederate States, forging an alliance that would carry on into the next century and two wars. The United Kingdom was on the losing side of the Great War in 1917, which eventually begat a revanchist coalition of the Conservative Party led by Winston Churchill and the Silver Shirts led by Oswald Mosley in 1932. This coalition led the country into war against Germany in 1941. While initially successful, the tide turned against the UK starting in 1943. Germany destroyed three major British cities with superbombs in 1944, prompting a non-confidence vote which toppled Churchill. Horace Wilson became the acting PM, and pursued peace with Germany. ''The Two Georges Several people are mentioned as serving as PMs in the past, although their terms and their party aren't always identified. * William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham PC Prime Minister during the 1760s. He helped ease the tensions between Britain and its North American colonies, insuring that the British Empire remained intact. He appears in the painting ''The Two Georges. * , Frederick North, Lord North, Chancellor of the Exchequer and who succeeded Pitt as Prime Minister. He is in the painting, The Two Georges. * Benjamin Disraeli, presumably a PM in the 19th Century, as one of the Provinces of the NAU is named in his honour. (This is not conclusive, as being a PM is not a requirement for province nomenclature.) * There is an unnamed female PM in 1995 (the present day in the novel). A popular readers' consensus identifies her as Margaret Thatcher. However, as no details about her are given, this hypothesis is no longer endorsed by this website, due to the anti-speculation policy. It is also noteworthy that OTL PM George Grenville is identified as failed to have become PM in the Georges' universe. This Point of Divergence occurred in 1763, making it the novel's earliest stated change, however its relation to the relevant POD is unclear. The War That Came Early Neville Chamberlain led Britain through the Second World War during its first phase against Germany (October, 1938 to Summer, 1940) and then after the "big switch" of mid-1940 which saw Britain align itself with Germany against the Soviet Union. In late 1940, Chamberlain's failing health led him to step down and press for the appointment of his close adviser, Horace Wilson. Wilson's term saw increased scrutiny of the ministry's critics at home and a crackdown on protests. Wilson's increasing authoritarianism finally prompted a military coup in the spring of 1941. The interim government detained Wilson, ended the war with the USSR, and restarted the war with Germany. It also promised elections throughout the remainder of 1941, but reset the date each time. Soon, it was 1943, and the military still held power. In the meantime, along with overseeing a war in North Africa and the reopening of the Western Front in Europe, the government reassigned several key members of the Wilson government to diplomatic positions in distant countries so as to keep them under control. Even after the war in Europe ended in 1944, the military maintained control over the government. Worldwar Only two Prime Ministers are identified in the series: * Winston Churchill, PM throughout the Worldwar quartet. * Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, identified as the PM in Aftershocks, but was presumably the PM throughout the Colonization series. Other Prime Ministers In addition to the above, Winston Churchill is the PM in "News From the Front". In the novel Joe Steele, the office follows the same line of succession as OTL during the period between 1937 and 1945, with Winston Churchill succeeding Neville Chamberlain in 1940, and in turn being succeeded by Clement Attlee in 1945. Whether Churchill returns to the office in the 1951 as in OTL is undisclosed. Churchill directly appears, while Chamberlain and Attlee are referenced. Churchill also appears in the short story, the only PM to do so. Attlee is PM in The Man With the Iron Heart after defeating Churchill in 1945, as in OTL. He is also implicitly PM in Bombs Away, the first volume of The Hot War trilogy; the Prime Minister is identified only by title, but as the Point of Divergence is November, 1950, and the reference comes in February, 1951, Attlee seems the obvious choice. Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton directly appears in "A Massachusetts Yankee in King Arthur's Court" in segments that take place in 1963. Historical Prime Ministers in Non-PM Roles Several historical Prime Ministers have appeared in the works of Harry Turtledove in a capacity other than as Prime Minister. Richard Dreyfuss and Harry Turtledove pointedly tell the reader that George Grenville did not become PM in The Two Georges. William Petty-FitzMaurice, 2nd Earl of Shelburne is Secretary of State in The United States of Atlantis, just as he was in OTL. It is unknown whether he became PM later in the Atlantis timeline. William Gladstone is referenced in his OTL position of Chancellor of the Exchequer in The Guns of the South. Whether or not he became PM is unknown. Winston Churchill is an MP and Minister of War in The War That Came Early. He is killed in May 1940 before he can become PM. Anthony Eden appears as an MP in The War That Came Early, but the series ends before he has an opportunity to become PM. Harold Macmillan also appears as an MP in The War That Came Early, but the series ends before he has an opportunity to become PM. See Also *Monarch of the United Kingdom, the head of state of the United Kingdom *President of the United States, the office of the head of state and government of the United States of America. Category:Titles Category:Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom Category:In the Presence of Mine Enemies Category:Southern Victory Category:The Two Georges Category:The War That Came Early Category:Worldwar